Sad Klopp opens his heart on the ESL debacle
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits he struggled seeing the reputation of the club “trashed” in the wake of their abortive involvement in the nowfailed Super League.
Owners Fenway Sports Group, led by John W Henry, were among the principal drivers of the project as part of the Premier League’s “Big Six”, and as a result have come in for huge criticism.
But Klopp, who has been outspoken on breakaway proposals for a couple of years, felt that should not have reflected as badly as it did on the historic institution that is the football club.
“It is difficult for me in truth, because I have found some of the reaction around it difficult to take,” he wrote in his programme notes.
“And by this I don’t mean those who were against it or the protests. This was a great victory for football supporters – I want to make this clear.
“I agreed with their opposition. I made this clear to our owners.
“The part I have struggled with is seeing this club, a place I love and am now proud to call my home, trashed – and done so in a manner which suggests no redemption is possible. That I can’t take.
“It was right to take apart the concept and it was fair to criticise it, along with those who came up with it and also how it was presented. All legitimate in my view.
“The anger and disappointment was justified, but there were times when the distinction between the club and this decision were too quickly blurred into one.
“To do so is an insult to the supporters in my view. And the players.
“This was a mistake. A big mistake. And it’s right FSG take responsibility for it. But it doesn’t mean the club should feel ashamed.
“The hundreds of employees who work here on Merseyside, be it Anfield, the AXA Training Centre, the Academy, Chapel Street, the stores and the countless other venues have earned the right to feel proud for how they serve this organisation.
“During the pandemic some of the most important work done in the name of LFC to help our community has come from our employees.
“We have had a rough time for many reasons recently, but this particular episode is over now and we must heal.”
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson felt it was important they made their voices heard.
“Being critical of my own employers isn’t something I do easily,” he wrote in his programme notes.
“You keep these sort of feelings in-house. With this it wasn’t possible or appropriate.”